Pick Up The Pieces
by Mrs.Williamthebloody
Summary: This story takes place during the end of the episode “Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing out,” the newest one with Jess. I gave the episode a twist ending.
1. Going Home

A/N: This story takes place during the end of the episode "Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing out," (the newest one with Jess). I gave the episode a twist ending.

Chapter 1: Going Home

_Previously on Gilmore Girls_

_Rory had followed Jess outside after Logan had called him "the blond dick at Yale" and they had been arguing about Rory and her new life._

"_This isn't you Rory you know it isn't. What's going on?" He yelled at her._

"_I don't know," she responded, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't know." She stated in a mere whisper, as much to herself as to him._

_His eyes softened, he had never meant to make her feel bad. He just wanted answers, answers he had pushed, maybe a little too hard, to get._

_His tone changed, his volume returned to that of a normal conversation. "Okay, ahh…maybe, maybe…maybe we'll catch up at a better time."_

_He reaches out and touches her arm in a reassuring way. What he was trying to reassure her of he didn't know, but it hurt him to see her this way. She was so clearly lost, there was nothing he could do. _

_He began to walk away, turning around for one more look at her._

"_Happy Birthday by the way, wasn't that a couple of weeks ago?" he questioned already knowing the answer._

_Rory nodded confirming that her birthday had in fact passed not too long ago. He gave her one last sweet sad smile and walked away, feeling guilty for pushing her so hard. Little did he know that in truth he had pushed just hard enough._

_She watched him go, her mind racing. Once there was nothing left to watch she turned and stormed into the pub._

_They had been arguing for a while, Rory tried to stay calm. This was made difficult by the way Logan was acting, he was loud. Louder than he had ever been before. This was a loud that could only be defined as a scream. He was angry, that was clear. _

"_I didn't tell you to quit Yale, you did that I gave you one month and you went beyond a month and it had nothing to do with me, it was all you. You wanna change? Change it, but don't blame me don't you dare blame me. You know what? Why don't you go off with John, Jake or whatever his name is." _

"_Oh, I'm not going off with Jess," she said annoyed that he would even suggest it._

_Logan sighed; it had been a long night. A night that he wanted to end. _

"_C'mon," he said defeated._

_Rory's expression changed, after what she had just witnessed the though of going anywhere with him at this time scared her. "Where?" she questioned her voice slightly unsteady._

"_Let's go, I wanna go, I don't wanna be here."_

"_I don't wanna go," she said._

"_Well I drove you here and I wanna go!" his volume had grown once more. _

"_I don't wanna go," she said her voice was now strong and firm._

"_Fine, I'll cover the bill, cab; do whatever you want it's your choice." He gave up, if she didn't want to leave with him then she could make her own way home. He turned and left._

_Rory took a deep breath, realizing she had been holding her breath for a while now. She looked around, wonder what she was going to do now._

_At the Gilmore house_

_Emily walked up to Rory's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Rory, its 7:30," no response. "Rory?" not getting a response for the second time she walked straight into the room. Looking around she found absolutely no sign of Rory._

_At Lorelai's house_

_The sun is shining through the window as Luke slowly wakes up. _

"_Lorelai?" he questions after realizing she's no longer next to him._

_Not getting a response he gets out of bed and walks towards the kitchen, he takes a quick look up the stairs and continues on up to Rory's bedroom. The door is open halfway, so he pushes it open all the way and steps in._

He sees Lorelai sitting on the chair at the end of Rory's bed and begins to walk slowly towards her, but stops dead after seeing who is on the bed.

He looks from Lorelai back to the bed wondering what had happened for Rory to be home. He didn't know what to do, should he wake them? Should he at least wake Lorelai? He wanted to know what was going on, but it had been a long time since his fiancée had, had a good nights sleep. Seeing the expression on her face told him all he needed to know. Being as quiet as possible he slipped from the room into the kitchen and began to make breakfast.

A/N: Tell me what you think! I have some great ideas of what is going to happen. If you like it I'll continue.


	2. Getting to Know Each Other

Chapter 2: Getting to Know Each Other

Lorelai woke up to the smell of coffee, she slowly stood up and began to stretch. Why had she slept sitting upright on a chair? As the memories of the past night began to come back to her she smiled and turned to look at the sleeping figure on Rory's bed. Her smile slowly faded realizing that she was still unsure of what events had passed in order for her daughter to call her to come pick her up.

A noise from the kitchen shook her from her thoughts and she walked towards Rory's door, quietly opening it determined not to wake her. She slowly stepped into the kitchen, finding Luke with his head in the cupboard, no doubt attempting to find enough plates for three.

She let out a giggle at the sight of him, causing him to jump and bump his head on the inside of the cabinet.

"Geez, you scared me," he said turning toward her.

"Shhhh, Rory's still sleeping," she couldn't help but smile at the mention of her only daughter.

"About that Lorelai, do you feel like filling me in?" he asked curious as to what had happened.

"Well, honestly I'm not too sure. I got a phone call from her last night asking me to come pick her up, no questions asked," she tried to explain.

"She was at some pub, she didn't really seem talkative so I didn't push her. She'll tell me when she's ready. Right now I'm just glad she's her."

"I'm glad I'm here to," Luke and Lorelai both turned to face a sleepy eyed Rory.

"How you feeling this morning sweetie?" Lorelai questioned softly.

"A little tired but I'll be fine, is that for me?" she questioned noticing the mug of coffee resting on the counter.

"Oh, yeah that's for you Rory," Luke responded picking it up and holding it out to her.

She walked towards him quickly lightly grabbed the mug and set it back town on the counter. She then stood so she was directly in front of Luke and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks," she muttered softly. Causing Luke's face to light up.

The quickly broke apart and Rory picked up her mug and sat herself down at the kitchen table.

"So…" she began. "I assume you want details?"

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other than back at Rory. Lorelai than sat down at the table next to her daughter.

"Only if you're ready," she said gently.

She began to tell them about how Jess had come to visit her, Luke jumped to conclusions and automatically assumed Jess was the one who had upset Rory, but she was able to calm him down and finish explaining the complete story.

"I've missed you kid," was all Lorelai could say. She was happy that Rory was finally coming to her senses and realizing that the life she had chosen wasn't the life that she was meant for, but she was also determined not to push or pry. She was furious at how Logan had treated her, but fearing Rory's reaction to the topic she steered clear of it.

"I've missed you too mom," the family then proceeded to eat their breakfast in silence. It wasn't and uncomfortable silence though, no, it was a good silence, a silence that meant things were looking up.

Halfway through breakfast Rory's head shot up suddenly and a smile spread across her face as she looked at the happy couple. "I can't believe you guys are engaged!"

"Tell me all about it! Mom you proposed! What made you do it? I am soo happy! Details I want details!"

The rest of the breakfast was spent discussing wedding plans and guest lists. The two girls ended up so giddy and immersed in the subject that they didn't even notice when Luke was done doing all the dishes.

He cleared he throat trying to get their attention. Neither mother nor daughter seemed to notice, so he did it again louder.

This time Lorelai acknowledged him, "Geez Luke, you got a furball over there?"

The two girls began to giggle, it was now clear that they had been ignoring him. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I should be getting to the dinner, I'll see you two later," he then proceeded to kiss Lorelai on the top of the head and wave goodbye to Rory, leaving the two to continue catching up.


	3. DIVERSION?

A/N: Thank you to every one that reviewed. I was amazed at how many reviews I got. You don't even understand how happy you all made me! For all of you that asked, Jess will definitally be making appearances, i'll tell you next chapterwhat thepairing will be.

Chapter 3: DIVERSION?

Luke had been at the dinner for over an hour when he looked up front wiping the counter only to see Jess walk through the door.

He had come by the day before and explained his situation and had given Luke a copy of his book. They had spent a long time talking about their lives before Jess had gotten up the courage to ask about Rory. Luke had then sadly recounted what had happened between her and Lorelai.

Luke knew that Jess would be in town for a few days and therefore wasn't surprised by his presence.

"Jess," he said.

"Uncle Luke." Both comments sounded more like statements than greetings, one might expect more from them now that they had both clearly grown up and come to respect each other, but who were they to monkey with tradition?

"I hear you went to see Rory."

This caught Jess a little off guard.

"Oh yeah? From who?" he questioned.

A smile spread across Luke's face. "Rory," he stated calmly.

"But how? You guys talk? That's kind of odd…you two don't have some kind of weird Woody Allen, Soon-Yi-"

Luke cut him off before he could finish. "Geez, why do you do that?"

Jess chuckled, "I was kidding, calm down."

"Funny," Luke said without a hint of humour. "Anyways, I heard it from Rory, because Rory is back home."

Jess raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Really? Last I saw her she was at a bar with her jerky boyfriend."

"Yeah well, things change. You should ask her about it though, it's not my place . If she wants to explain to people she will."

"Fine, I'll ask her if I see her."

"What do you mean IF? You're in town, she's in town. You two are bound to run into each other. Anyways don't you want to see her? You were the one who made her see what she was doing with her life."

"Really? She's not mad? I mean she didn't seem too mad or anything. She just looked so sad and lost. I was the one that made her look that way."

"C'mon Jess, you don't really believe that do you?" Jess didn't respond, he just looked at Luke feeling guilty.

"No way, that girl was lost before you talked to her, she just didn't realize it. If anything you made her less confused, she's finally starting to find herself."

"Maybe you're right, either way I don't think I'll go looking for her, but if I run into her it's not like I'll turn in the opposite direction," Jess said as he headed up the stairs attempting to evade any more questions Luke might still have.

"That boy has no idea how much he's helped that girl," Luke said to himself shaking his head.

Back at Home

_Gandalf: _

_Not for ourselves... but we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's Eye fixed upon us! _

_Aragorn turns to look at Gandalf as he continues _

_Aragorn: _

_Keep Him blind to all else that moves. _

_Legolas: _

_A diversion. _

_Gandalf walks to stand beside Aragorn. _

_Gandalf: _

_Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait. _

_Gimli: _

_Certainty of death! Small chance of_—

"MOM? Why did you pause it?"

"Diversion? Seriously? Diversion?"

"You're kidding me right? You paused it so you could rant again? What about the rules?"

"Screw the rules, I hate that line, its like…DUH IT'S A FREAKIN DIVERSION YOU IDIOT ARAGORN JUST EXPLAINED IT! I mean really. Plus its day, so movie night rules don't apply."

"I know, I agreed with you the first 17 times, do you really need to stop there every time we watch it? The whole flow gets thrown off."

"Sorry geez, unpausing it now calm down."

"Thank you."

--_success! What are we waiting for! _

_In the next scene we see how the remaining soldiers of Gondor and Rohan ride out of the White City, Aragorn leading them, his friends by his side. _

_They now leave to the Black Gate of Mordor. The scene changes and we see how Sauron's remaining forces march toward the Gate. _

_Orc leader: _

_To the Gate, you slugs! Move on! _

_Frodo and Sam, still in their orc armour have managed to get down the hill, to the rocky Plains of Gorgoroth. _

_Sam: _

_Look! The orcs! They're_—

"You did NOT just do that! What now?"

"I mean really diversion!"

"That's it," Rory said standing up. "It's time for lunch."

"Rory, sit back down you are ruining the whole FLOW!"

Rory then grabs the controller and shuts off the T.V.

"I'm hungry and you are the flow ruiner."

"Uh…errr…oo…baby you made mommy speechless, I think I'm going to faint…need…to…finish….movie….now."

"Later, get up," she said grabbing her mom by the arm. "We're going to Luke's."

At the mention of Luke Lorelai's face brightened.

"Ooo, sexy dinner man here we come," she said running to the door.

"Mom gross."

"Geez Rory hurry up I'm hungry." Rory simply rolled her eyes before following her mom out the door.

A/N: Okay everyone, I hope you liked it. PLEASE review! They make me happy:) Plus you know you wanna! Any ideas of what should happen? Let me know. THX!


	4. I've Been Thinking of Everything

Chapter 4: I've Been Thinking of Everything of Me of You and Me

Rory and Lorelai had arrived at Luke's diner only twenty minutes ago, yet their table was littered with empty coffee cups.

"Geez, where did you get all these? I only gave one cup to each of you. And haven't you ever heard of refilling the same glass?"

"Yes Luke, but if I go up with a used glass to any of your staff members they will assume I've already had a cup, and since you put them all on high alert and threatened their jobs, they will refuse to refill my mug, whereas if I ask for a new cup, they give it to me."

Luke chose not to respond instead he just began clearing their table.

"Now that, that's over. Can I get you two anything to eat? All that coffee on empty stomachs cannot be good for you."

Lorelai looked over at Rory, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange, and raised her eyebrows as if to ask _You going to order first?_ But Rory wasn't paying attention; her gaze was fixed on the staircase leading up to Luke's apartment.

"Rory?" she still didn't respond.

Lorelai began waving her arms around. "Earth to Rory!" This finally snapped Rory out of her trance.

"He's up there you know," Luke stated plainly.

"Who?" Rory question knowing full well the answer.

"I'm sure he'd like the company," was all Luke said before turning to leave.

This who exchange had confused Lorelai, _What was that all about?_ She thought. She was about to ask Rory when she realized Luke hadn't actually taken their orders.

"Luke!" she called. "What about our food?"

"Ceaser's making you burgers and fries as we speak," he called to her over his shoulder.

"I'm going to marry that mad," she said to herself in a faux dreamy voice.

"I'm going to go to the washroom," Rory said out of nowhere.

"Hun are you feeling okay? You've been kinda out of it since we left the house?"

"Ya I'm fine. I just really need to use the washroom is all," she said as she walks towards the staircase.

"Uh…Ror?"

"Mom, I'm fine really," she responded slightly irritated.

"No sweets its not that. You know the washroom's that way right?" Lorelai questioned growing worried about her daughter.

"I…I don't like public washrooms, they're just so…yucky and germy. I'm just gonna go use the one in Lukes apartment," she said before scurrying up the stairs.

As she reaches the door Rory takes a deep breathe wondering what to say to him. He had been the first person to open up her eyes, the only person. Why had it taken her so long to realize how unhappy she was with her life? He had left quickly after their exchange; she knew it was because he felt guilty. But he shouldn't, she was grateful. She was getting a second chance.

As she leaned up against the door her thoughts began to wander further into the past. Their past. They had been good with each other. They had fit in the beginning. The timing was off. That's the only way she could explain it. They needed things that the other wasn't able to provide. She had wanted to blame him after he left her, but couldn't. It wasn't his fault, they were in different places. She was fulfilling her goals, making her dreams become reality, while his life was slowly tumbling down. She could tell by the way he was acting before his departure that things weren't right. In the end she was glad it had ended before he came to resent her.

Things were different now. Their situations were reversed in a way. His life in order and hers the one fallen apart. The difference was, he was able to help her. Maybe that wasn't the truly the difference, maybe it was that she had let him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she suddenly began falling backwards, only to be caught by two strong arms. He lifted her back into an upright position. He would have spoken if he could find the words. They stared at each other expectantly, waiting for the other to break the silence.

"Hi," was all she could manage.

A/N: You guys have been fabulous, sorry it feels like it's been forever since iv'e updated. Its gonna be Jess/Rory, for all of you who wanted to knowfor sure. I hope you liked this chapter. Please, Please review:)


	5. Store Your Tears in a Styrofoam Box

Chapter 5: Store Your Tears in a Styrofoam Box

"Hey," he said softly.

They continued to look at each other, neither knowing what to say next.

"How did you do that?" she finally asked.

"I…sorry…what do you mean?" he questioned unsure of what she was talking about.

"I hadn't seen you in years, we hadn't even been speaking, yet somehow you were the only one who could get through to me. How did you do that? How do you still know me so well after all this time?" she wasn't sure if he'd have an answer, she wasn't even sure she needed one. All she needed was to make sure he knew just how much he had helped her.

"It's seems to me like you've kind of …lost yourself?" he half questioned half stated. She nodded in response. "Well, I know who you used to be, before…I guess I was just trying to remind you."

They stood in silence as time passed.

"You woke me up, what you said to me, it's everything I've been pushing to the back of my mind. Everything I've been ignoring because I didn't want to deal with it. I just kept telling myself everything was temporary…" her eyes began to water, she looked away from him shaking her head. "I can't believe how far I've let myself tray from the plan…Yale…journalism…I was on a path. I good path…" She had been in denial for months now; she had grown numb and had fallen into a routine of functions and parties. It wasn't the life she wanted, but at least it kept her busy enough to distract her from the total destruction of everything she'd ever wanted. But now…she was all too aware of how broken her life truly was.

He watched as the tears continued to stream down her face. All he wanted to do was reach out and take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but he wasn't sure if that would be okay. They hadn't talked in a long time, they weren't friends and he didn't know what she wanted from him. He settles for running his hands comfortingly up and down her arms.

"Rory, look at me." She didn't move. So he put his hand up to her chin and gently forced her to look him in the eyes.

"You're tough. You'll get past this. You just need to take some time and figure out exactly what you want. Okay?" she nodded silently, tears still running down her cheeks. "Listen, everything is going to be okay."

Her lip was quivering and he couldn't hold back anymore, he wrapped his left arm tightly around her waist and began to stroke her hair with his right hand. "Everything is going to work out," he whispered into her ear.

They stood there in that position for what felt like hours. Slowly, her tears lessened until she was all cried out.

"Thank you," she whispered before pulling away, looking into his eyes. "You don't know how much you saved me."

He looked deep into her bright blue eyes and simply nodded.

She took a couple of deep breaths before beginning to speak again, "I should really get back to my mom, she must be wondering what's going on."

Once again he simply nodded. She gave him a small smile and made her way back down the stairs pausing at the bottom and taking one more deep breath before making her way into the diner.

When she got back to the table Lorelia's plate had been cleared and her meal was being placed into a styrofoam container. She'd been gone even longer than she thought.

"Sorry," she said as she sat down across from her mom.

"Don't worry about it…are you okay?" Lorelia asked, her voice full of concern.

She took a moment to think before answering, "I will be," and she knew that in time she truly would be.

A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been pretty much forever since I've updated this and I don't even know if anyone will end up reading it, lol, but my new years resolution is to complete all of my unfinished fan fiction stories. I've been re-watching season 6 of Gilmore Girls and I thought I'd get a jump-start on my resolution by starting with this one. Sorry the chapter is so short.


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